What are the key factors for a successful corporate identity? —

To successfully implement a brand personality, internal identity work is required. If the new identity is not practised by the employees, it cannot be conveyed convincingly to the customers.

Work on the identity of a company can have different triggers and objectives. In good times sharpening the brand identity can free additional energies to further expand the company’s position and to take the momentum gained from the sense of achievement into the future. In harder times it is mostly about self-discovery, about differentiation and about solidarity in order to come out of the crisis. But change situations also often require intense examination of the new or combined identity from different cultures or sub-identities.

Working on the brand identity means carrying out an open-heart operation on the company – the brand is the only central projection screen where all the stakeholders meet. Internally the brand is the meaningful core, it carries the self-image. It drives culture, solidarity and orientation. It is the platform for the company targets and ambitions and illustrates the attitude of the company. On the market the brand is the link for all the stakeholders and helps to build a sharp profile in the long term. It is the promise of the company and its good reputation forms the basis for the relationship with the customer. The brand gives orientation, thus minimizing the risk of bad decisions. To put it briefly: A brand creates trust – the most valuable feature in any relationship.

Multiplied with globally and culturally diverse conditions, the work on the brand soon becomes a highly complex and demanding exercise. In return, a successful outcome can be an effective stimulus for the whole company – whereas failure causes trust, hope and future chances to diminish. Some key factors decide on top or flop.